Barbecue Brisket (Easy!!!)

I’ve always been told that cooking a brisket is hard, which is why I avoided ever buying one…even though Matt always told me that it was his favorite cut of beef. Finally one day at the farmers market, I timidly went ahead and splurged on a small grass-fed beef brisket. I proudly brought it home and showed it to Matt (who was of course very excited to see me the brisket in my hands).

So what did I do next? I promptly put it into the freezer and avoided looking at it…for weeks.

Good grief…I was afraid of a frozen piece of meat.

I’d paid good money for that little hunk of beef…I did not want to mess it up! No one I asked knew how to cook a brisket or they simply answered that same answer I’d always heard: “Cooking a brisket is really hard. They can come out really tough.”

Well shucks.

I don’t know where the courage finally came from, but one day I pulled that brisket out and did a little research on how to cook it. A barbecue variety of brisket sounded better than anything, so that is what I decided on.

The trick is this: Cook it low and slow. Or slow and low, whichever works better for ya.

I’ve now made many a brisket because after biting into THE most delicious and tender meat EVER I’ve decided to join Matt in the “Brisket is my Favorite Cut of Beef Club”.

Care to join our club?

Here’s a little tutorial, which is rather silly because why do you really need pictures to show you how to put meat in a dish and cook it, but whatever. And also, it really isn’t very fun to look at raw meat in a dish. Ah, but here’s a tutorial for BBQ Brisket nonetheless… (Apparently reading this is your initiation before joining our “Beef Brisket is my Favorite Cut of Beef Club”.)

I usually buy a 2-3 pound brisket. They aren’t the cheapest cuts of meat, neither are they the most expensive. I have been able to find them for about what I’d pay for a roast (grass fed, organic), so I feel like it’s a pretty good deal.

Step number one: Put your brisket in a cooking dish (Wow Laura, thank you for showing us a picture of this. We would never have been able to follow that step if you hadn’t shown us what you meant.):

Don’t ever let anyone tell you that cooking a brisket is hard. And if anyone ever DOES tell you that it is hard, you give them a link to this tutorial because it could be that they’ve just never had anyone ever show them how to put meat into a dish before. Ah yes, I’m always here to help.

So what club are you in…as in…what’s your favorite cut of beef? Or do you have a favorite? (Hmm, maybe you have a favorite cut of…chicken?)

I love brisket- I’m from TX, how could I not!
I always cook mine on low in the crock pot all day with (bbq-ish) marinade over it. (A marinade that I get in a bottle…I really need to test a few recipes of my own. I’ll let you know if I hit the jackpot.)
I don’t even have to use a knife- it just falls apart- yum!!

I haven’t made one for a long time, but years ago what I read to do was to sprinkle it with salt, garlic, and liquid smoke, and then stab it to death. And then stab it some more. And then turn it over and do it again on the other side.

I always have to call my husband about most cuts of meat since he was a butcher a long time ago. He can typically tell me if it’s a good price and what I should do with it. I only did a brisket once, and it turned out pretty good. I’ll have to try it again cooking it even lower and slower!

My family loves brisket. I had it years ago while at a couple’s retreat and ended up buying the recipe book just for this recipe.

Deer Valley Ranch Smoky Beef Brisket

Fresh Beef Brisket sprinkled with garlic and onion put in a non-metal pan. Pour an entire bottle of liquid smoke over brisket. Cover with foil tightly. If it is not covered tightly the rest of your food in the fridge will smell like liquid smoke :(
Marinate in fridge 12-24 hours, turning the meat occasionally. Open foil and pour over Worcestershire sauce (about 5 ounces) reseal foil tightly and bake in over at 275 degrees or crock pot on low for 5 hours. At the end roll the foil back and cover the top with BBQ sauce really thick. Seal again and cook another hour. This is based on a 4 pound brisket.

I don’t cook big pieces of meat very often. How do you know when to take it out of the oven? And what is all that liquid in the baking pan? You didn’t add water, right, so it’s just juices from the meat? I’m a little scared because the meat still looks so red …

I had always heard that brisket was a meat definitely to use in a slow cooker/oven/grill.
The PBS show BBQ University often has a brisket recipe.
We enjoy beef! I don’t have a favorite cut, my husband, however would say steak!

I’ve done em in the crockpot and the oven in a freezer bag. I like em with a rub and just a TBl. of liquid smoke. They turn out kind of dry like the bbq we get here in Texas. They turn out a little soupier when cooked in bbq sauce, and we like them that way too. Great on homemade buns!
Sometimes brisket goes on a great sale around 4th of July- at least in TX. I’ve gotten whole ones at .99/lb. I just cut off the fat and cut it into 3 hunks and freeze 2. The dog likes the fat. Not grass fed, but we go back and forth, depending on the grocery budget!

That looks delicious! I’ve never attempted a brisket before, only one that was already in a brine (corned beef). My husband loves corned beef, but I think it’s more for the flavor of the brine than the type of meat. I might have to try this sometime because we love BBQ in this house!

I have a limited grocery budget and have been timid to purchase this cut of meat before also. I know my husband would love it so now I can watch for a sale and give it a try! Thanks for the easy instructions! :)

My favorite brisket is low and slow boiled corned beef (I’m irish and from New England, what can i say?). But i also make a sweet and tangy brown sugar brisket: brown brisket with a little garlic and onion; then cover with beef broth, add salt, pepper, 1/4 tsp nutmeg, boil covered on low for two hours, transfer to baking dish with broth and add 1/3 cup of brown sugar, 1 1/2 tb lemon juice, carrots, and sweet potatoes, cover and bake 1 1/2 hours. It may be slow, but easy and delicious! And perfect for fall!

Yummy! My mom makes a really good brisket. She smokes it outside for a few hours, then cooks it in the oven, with beer in the pan, and I don’t buy alcohol.. At all…. So I haven’t attempted a brisket before :-(… And so much for homemade vanilla. :-(

I think there will now be a run on brisket due to this article! Hopefully it can still be found in my local grocery market. :-) However, maybe next time you can take a picture of cutting it against the grain? That is the hard part for me and it usually takes me a bit to get it right. Usually the only brisket I make is for St. Patrick’s Day.

I’m in the Ribeye club… YUM!!! Especially grilled, with a little gorgonzola or blue cheese sprinkled on top to melt while it rests.

My husband is in the brisket club… especially corned beef brisket. We got a brisket with our 1/4 grass fed cow purchase last year, and I brined it myslef and made corned beef. It was awesome! I always make it for his birthday (the day before St. Patrick’s day). It definitely looked different than the chemical, artificial color filled corned beef briskets sold in the store, but the flavor was out of this world compared to store bought.

I can’t wait to try this! Just wonderful – including the pictures. Have you made the BBQ sauce from Animal Vegetable Miracle? I made it this summer and will hopefully try it with this recipe. Thank you again for the wonderful ideas.

Mmm, sounds yummy. I wonder if there was anything labeled brisket in the 1/4 of cow we just bought. I just kinda threw it all in the freezer and figured as I pulled the meat out, I would look up anything I didn’t know how to cook :-)

Whole chicken is very simple and tasty. I do mine in my counter-top rotisserie but it’s also simple in the oven. A shallow baking dish or roasting pan and a roasting rack so the chicken sits up out of the juices. Bake at about 325-350 for apx. 15 minutes per pound. The juices will run clear when done. It will have a nice crispy skin if you like that, which I know is bad but I do ;) You can also stuff it with dressing, onion, apple, etc.

My husband loves brisket also. But he usually cooks it. I’ll have to pay more attention next time or just get brave, buy one and cook it myself for him!!! Thanks for the tutorial. It really helps me to see what types of bakeware are fine/useful for different dishes.

I usually rub the tenderloin down with olive oil, then apply a mixture of
spices, mainly creole seasoning and garlic powder. I let that sit in the
refrigerator for about 8-10 hours,
then my husband grills it.

In a saucepan I melt a little butter, add some steak sauce and a bit more
creole seasoning, and he uses that to baste the tenderloin while it
grills. We usually have a good-sized tenderloin, so it takes
30-40 minutes over low to medium heat to get it cooked the way we like
it. It’s one of our favorite meals; even our two girls can’t get enough!

Hi Laura,
At my family’s slaughterhouse, the brisket would have went into the hamburger meat unless you specifically asked for the brisket to be saved and left whole. Most families needed more hamburger meat and few knew about it or wanted to learn to fix it. I’ve never fixed one either but had two saved in the freezer and one is in the oven now thanks to your inspiration!

I’ve never been a huge red meat fan but it’s definitely growing on me. My husband would LOVE this barbecued brisket. Anything barbecue is always his favorite. One of my favorite ways to do beef is to soak a roast in buttermilk for a few days as per Nourishing Traditions. It is SO good that way! Very, very tender.

I’ve never made brisket. We love to do roasts – chuck, arm, etc. in a low-and-slow method in our electric skillet. After searing the meat in the pan, you turn the heat down to low and add some water to the bottom. You can add potato halves and sliced onions at the same time. Simmer, keeping watch on the water level. If you’re lucky, you will get some nice caramelization from the meat that penetrates the potatoes an onions – but be careful! There’s a fine line between caramelization and burning. About 1/2 hour before you think the roast is ready, add some carrots.

Laura, don’t feel bad about being afraid of a piece of meat and how to cook it! We raise beef for a living and I am still nervous about cooking my prime rib…it’s been in the freezer for quite some time! Maybe it’s time for me to tackle it too?! :)

Looks yummy! I’ve always wanted to try corning my own brisket for St. Patrick’s day too since there’s so much yucky stuff in the store-bought ones. I’ll have to try your recipe so I can get over my own fear of brisket first!

Oh, and my favorite cut of beef has to be skirt steak! You cook it the opposite of a brisket, high and quick, but it’s oh so tasty and easy!

I have a brisket in the freezer from the 1/4 of beef we got and I didn’t know what to do with it (I grew up eating VERY little red meat and married an “meat and potatoes” Iowa boy). Guess what we are going to have on Sunday!!!! My husband will be so impressed. Thank you!!!

This may be a dumb question but I’m serious. How do you know when it’s done? My brisket is larger than you mentioned (5 1/2 lb) but one thing I have learned is you can’t always go by color of meat, especially when using a sauce or marinade. Temperature? Thanks for all your wonderful tutorials and wisdom! <3

Tamara, a brisket is done when it is done. What does that mean? It means it might be done as llow as 190 or as high as 210. What you are looking for is that the meat probes tender, or as those of us who do a lot of BBQ often say, “like buttah”. You need to give time for the fat and connective tissue to render. Tougher cuts of meat must be cooked at lower temperatures for longer periods of time and to higher internal temperatures to become tender. Paradoxically, although the meat temperature is technically “overdone” for beef, because the fat and connective tissue has rendered at the higher internal temperatures, it will be tastier, more moist, and more tender than if you remove from the cook earlier.

On a side note, and just a minor quibble, slathering a piece of meat with BBQ sauce and throwing in an oven or crock pot at low temperatures isn’t technically BBQ. You need wood smoke for it to be BBQ. That means either adding wood to a dedicated smoker or learning how to smoke on a kettle grill using wood chunks over coals and indirect heat with the lid closed.

Matt is correct, cook it until it falls apart. We usually do a much, much bigger brisket, liberally season it with paprika, and bake it on 250* overnight and into the next day…until it’s done. It is a wonderful! We don’t put BBQ sauce on it until it’s done. That way you can use it for all sorts of meals. I like to make this and portion it out and freeze it for the days I need a quick meal. My favorite way to make a brisket is to smoke it in our BBQ smoker. SO good!

Brisket is my husband’s favorite, too, so I made it in the crock pot once. It was the most expensive piece of meat I ever ruined. It has taken a while and a lot of dry meat to realize I am away from home far too long everyday to make a successful meat crock pot meal during the week. I even have one with a timer that switches to “keep warm” when the time is up and the meat is consistently dry. :( I will try your method in the oven one day when I am home.

Just made this a few weeks ago for our small group with a rub to cook and then homemade barbecue sauce on the side. We had crock pot macaroni and cheese and coleslaw to go with it, then I made homemade ice cream for dessert. A very labor intensive meal, but very well received!

I felt the same way about a brisket until I found a low and slow oven cooked method on foodtv.com. I used Paula Deen’s Texas dry rub, cooked it for an hour uncovered, then added beef broth and cooked it for 3 hours covered. It comes out super tender and absolutely delicious every time.

I love brisket too, Laura, and you are right on about low and slow! Here’s my grandmother’s recipe which is our family’s favorite, and, yes, we should know being from Texas and all! ;) Here is Sibley Brisket:
Take your meat and rub it all over with Lawry’s Seasoned Salt, a little cayenne and pepper. Put the brisket in a dish a little bigger than it is, but not one that swallows it up. Place brisket (this is important), fat side up and drizzle worschershire sauce all over it under all of the meat has some sauce on it and there’s a little in the bottom of the pan. Cook on 300 degrees for 3- 3 1/2 hours and then let sit for 15 min. Slice against the grain and enjoy with the gravy! So easy, so delicious.

Question – what about adding liquid smoke? I’ve wondered about trying my hand at brisket but have the exact same reservations about ruining a very expensive piece of meat….it’s one of my husband’s favorite foods on the planet, though, so if I could make this, well….I don’t even know what to say.

haha i laughed at you not wanting to waste the money if you were going to ruin it..the other day i got a rump roast(not grass fed, but still expensive)after waiting for quite a while for it to go on sale.it costs an arm and a leg for one big enough for our family of 9..put it in the crock pot for french dip sandwhiches..came home hours later to find my crock pot had died some where along the cooking process…i honestly wanted to cry!!!so i took my half cooked ice cold pice of meat and threw it our in our woods…it will be a while before we do that again..but i am going to keep an eye out for brisket..it looks so good!!

I have always wanted to try brisket. After finding your recipe I decided to give it a try. The grocer I went to did not have brisket, I found a big flank decided that will work the same(I know nothing about cuts of meat obviously) I found on the internet that flank can be cooked the same way as brisket…. Results may not be the same.. O great. Its cooking now.. Time will tell.. I doubled the BBQ sauce and wrapped the pan completely in foil, and since the meat is a tougher cut I am cooking it 5 1/2 hours. Will let you know how it works out..

seriously, have never cooked an easier piece of meat before — ever. I made ours with the Cream Scalloped Potatoes (which have now been requested multiple times!). I can’t thank you enough for your meal plans! They have literally breathed new life into our meal time!